Surprise! You're the father!
by ItsRosseth
Summary: Tony finds out that he's a dad. This is going to be little ficklets about his journey through parenthood.
1. Chapter 1

SURPRISE! YOU'RE THE FATHER!

_**Two Years Ago.**_

"WHAT?" Tony exclaimed, his eyes wide as his heart beat rapidly, tucked safely against his arc reactor. Honestly, he thought that even that would fail on him, given his current state.

"What do you mean she's mine, Carrie?" He questioned the blonde woman, his eyes never leaving the hands of said woman.

The little baby was wrapped in a pink blanket, held out to him by her mother.

"Tony, we've had this conversation before. I've taken as many tests as possible. There's no denying it, she's your child." Carrie snapped, her patience running thin.

"Now either you take her or I have no choice but to put her up for adoption. You know I can't handle a child." She spoke to him, her tone not at all motherly. It was as if she was just giving him some papers to sign and that was it. There wasn't an ounce of motherly care in her voice, making him wonder if she was even human.

"And you think I can?" He scoffed, backing up slightly as she moved forward.

"Fuck." He murmured, closing his eyes before grabbing the paperwork that proved she was telling the truth but with one more glance at the baby, he knew that she couldn't be lying.

The baby had his features and accompanied with Carrie's eyes…she was his.

Running his fingers through his hair Tony almost growled at the woman in front of him when she mentioned adoption a second time.

There was no way a Stark was going to be put up for adoption.

"Give me." He demanded, holding his hands out for the baby.

"Jesus, Tony. Fine." Carrie replied, snarkily, as she carefully placed the baby in his open arms.

Instinctively, he cradled her to his chest as his breath left his lungs, a small smile gracing his features as the baby reached up and tried to grab something that wasn't there.

"What's her name?" He said quietly, not taking his eyes off of her for a moment as he heard Carrie sigh along with the sounds of her unpacking everything that he would need.

"Haven't named her. Figured if I did then I wouldn't be able to say goodbye to her." She replied, finally sounding a bit sad.

'Fucking finally' he thought. She couldn't actually have a heart made out of fucking stone. Not that it would surprise him, that is.

"You do realize that once you walk out of those doors, I will have to have you sign over all legal rights to her, right?" Tony said softly, finally looking up at her, memorizing her features. She was the mother of his child after all.

"I…I- yes." She stuttered, looking as if she was torn.

"Then you better say your goodbye now, Carrie. There's not a chance in hell you're going to be able to say it later." He said to her, uncaring as to how cold his tone sounded. "You are the one giving her up without a second chance, remember?" He stared at her, his brown eyes piercing through her own, making her shift from foot to foot as she tried to say something to her child.

"I…I can't." She whispered, closing her eyes for a second before turning away.

"Take care of her, Tony. Please." She pleaded over her shoulder, not once stopping to say goodbye, kiss her baby's forehead or even hold her one last time.

At the sound of the door closing Tony closed his eyes and sat down on the lounge in his living room, his arms softly rocking his baby.

"Looks like it's you and me, kid." He whispered, sighing softly as he ran his fingers through her blonde hair, smiling when she reached up and grabbed his finger.

"What are we going to name you? Isabelle? Jane? No. Too plain. Definitely not Carrie, that's for sure. Elizabeth? Liz? Fuck, this is why I have a robot named DUM-E and YOU." He grumbled, leaning back. "Mom would have a conniption, were she still alive, if I named you Girl. She would kick my ass and-" He cut himself off as a thought raced through his head.

"Maria."

_**One Year Ago**_

"Shhh, Maria, it's alright. It's all alright, baby girl. Just me, it's just me." Tony spoke softly, trying to push the white dots from appearing before him. Cradling Maria, he sat in the rocking chair near her crib and turned off the baby monitor, not wanting to wake any one else in the mansion by Maria's crying. "What's the matter, sweetheart? Hm? You don't need to be changed, you were just fed, you don't have a fever…what? Did you have a nightmare?" Pushing the floor with his foot, he gently rocked the chair as he held Maria close to his chest, her fists waving above her as she tried to grab at anything she could.

Reaching up with one hand, he let her grab his finger and gently brought their hands back down to her, letting her tug at him as much as she wanted until she tired out, her crying waning off slowly as she cried her self hoarse. He didn't know what to do, what she wanted or how to stop her from crying. All he did know was that he couldn't keep talking if she was going to keep crying. His head couldn't take it. Hell, right now even holding her hurt. But that wasn't going to stop him, of course it wouldn't.

Finally after she completely settled down, he looked at her, his cheeks wet with tears of both pain and frustration. "You mean the world to me, baby girl. And I just need you to always know that. Always remember how important you are to your dad and how even if he's working and you need him to help you with something, he wants you to bug him about it. He won't ever tell you he's too busy for you because you and your mother are his two priorities in life. He's never going to push you aside and he's going to make sure that you know you're loved every damn day of your life. He's not going to send you away to boarding school just to focus on himself, you understand that? He's there for you to talk to, and bitch to and whine too if you want. He's there when you want to complain about how unfair he's being about your bedtime and he's there when you want to yell at him about how unfair he's being about not making you a suit."

Closing his eyes, he sighed softly and and pressed his lips against her forehead, and staying silent from that point on as Maria reached up and tugged his hair softly, causing him to smile slightly. "I think we can just sit here for a while, don't you?"

_Six Months Ago_

The days were passing by way to fast for Tony's liking. By now, Maria was able to crawl and sit up on her own. Soon she'd be walking and- "Dada"

…"Maria?" Tony called out, glancing on the computer screen that had the feed from her room broadcasted 24/7. She was standing up and shaking the bars to her crib as much as she could, that is. The only astounding thing was that she kept repeating the word "Dada" over and over again.

"Jarvis, how much have I had to drink today?" He asked softly, watching the computer carefully. "Nothing today, sir. You are correct, however, if you are thinking that she is speaking."

Letting out a slow breath, Tony completely forgot the fact that his hands were covered in motor oil as he ran his fingers through his hair before pushing himself up as fast as he could to make his way to Maria's room.

Opening the door, he watched Maria's face light up, well as much as a toddler could that is, as she saw him.

Holding her hands up, she repeated the word "Dada, dada, dada" over and over again. "Unbelievable." Tony muttered as he walked over to her and picked her up, softly tickling her. "I'm so happy I got that on tape." He said softly to her as he lifted her to blow raspberries against her stomach, grinning when she giggled. "C'mon, baby girl. Let's get you something to eat."

_**Today**_

Glancing up at the time, Tony sighed and went back to soldering two pieces of metal together before he realized with a start, almost jumping up and burning himself.

It was the 21st.

Jesus Christ on a fucking cracker, it was the 21st.

Maria's birthday.

She was already two.

Letting out a small laugh, he quickly put down what he was doing, wiping his hands on a washrag that dummy brought him before almost running towards the stairs, taking each step two at a time, walking as fast as he could until he got to Maria's room, quieting down before opening the door.

"She's awake, sir" JARVIS's british accent filled the room at a much softer volume.

"Shh." Tony replied, rolling his eyes until he got to the crib, reaching down to brush Maria's already long locks away from her eyes.

Beautiful, soul seeing, blue eyes stared up at him as she reached up for him, mumbling "Dada", intermingled with a yawn.

"Happy Birthday, beautiful girl." He murmered, reaching down to pick her up, his hands automatically checking to see if she needed a changing. Thankfully, she didn't.

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Maria, happy birthday to you." Tony sang softly as Maria nestled her body as close to his chest as she could, resting her head under his chin as she cooed softly, her fragile hands grasping his shirt as he sat down in the rocking chair next to her crib.

"How are you two already, baby?" He questioned, kissing the top of her head as he rocked her gently, trying to lull her to sleep. "Seems like just yesterday, you were a surprise to me."


	2. Chapter 2

Tony grinned as he tickled Maria's stomach softly, laughing softly when she giggles. "Why are you growing up so fast, baby girl?" He murmured softly, finally picking her up and holding her against his chest. "Almost two years." He muttered to himself, shaking his head.

"Hmm." He hummed softly when Maria grabbed at his hair, making him wrinkle his nose. "Nuhuh, baby." He spoke softly, bouncing her in his arms to make her giggle once again.

"God help us when you start to walk." Tony spoke to himself as Maria fussed in his arms, already reaching for the mobile above her crib.


	3. Chapter 3

FIRST STEPS

Tony stared, wide eyed and slack jawed, at Maria.

She was holding herself up by grasping the corner of the table before taking her first few steps, stumbling slightly. Finding her footing, she giggled as she took some more steps towards Tony.

Finally getting out of his shell-shocked state, he crouched down with his arms outstretched, a grin on his face. "Come on, baby girl. Come here, daddy's here." He said softly, letting out a laugh when she stumbled towards him, falling once on her hands and knees. "Aw, sweetie." He muttered, moving to get up only to pause.

She was getting up again. "Come to your daddy, Maria." He called, holding out his arms to his squealing toddler who finally made it to her dad's arms. "Dada, dada, dada." She giggled as Tony threw her up in the air slightly only to catch her again.

"You did it! That's my girl!" Tony said loudly, laughing as Maria pulled his hair. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he held her to his chest with a smile.

"Come on, lets do it again." He whispered softly into her hair, standing her back again at the table as he took a seat on the couch, unaware of the tears that were at the corner of his eyes, threatening to spill.


	4. Chapter 4

"Maria? Maria!? MARIA!" Tony shouted, cursing himself for rebooting JARVIS. He should have waited until Maria was asleep before rebooting the AI. Now he didn't have eyes in the house.

"Come on, baby, come back to daddy." He said softly, mostly to himself as he went frantic, tearing apart every room, every single floor that she could have wandered off to.

"FUCK!" He yelled, running his fingers through his hair, the sweat dripping off of his face as he heard a rustle in the corner of his lab.

"Maria? Maria!?" He yelled, running towards the pile of scrap metal only to be greeted by the sound of her crying, her arm sporting a large cut due to the fact that she was messing with sharp pieces of metal he had discarded.

"Oh, baby come here." Tony said softly, unaware of the tears that were stuck to his eyelashes, threatening to spill. He had never been more scared in his life.

She was the most important thing to him, he would give up anything for her, anything just to give her the world.

Cradling her to his chest, he rocked her softly just content on finally holding her again before he noticed her crying hadn't stopped. Fuck. Her cut.

Carrying her to her high chair, he sat her down as he grabbed a first aid kit, cringing knowing that he had to take her to the doctor to get a tetanus shot. He reached out to dab the alcohol swab over the cut, honestly hurting inside when her cries intensified at the burn. He quickly bandaged it and picked her up as she sobbed with intermittent "Dada's"

Closing his eyes, he bounced her softly as he began to softly sing:

_"Hush, little baby, don't say a word, _  
_Daddy's going to buy you a mockingbird. _  
_And if that mockingbird don't sing, _  
_Daddy's going to buy you a diamond ring. _  
_And if that diamond ring turns brass, _  
_Daddy's going to buy you a looking glass. _  
_And if that looking glass gets broke, _  
_Daddy's going to buy you a billy goat. _  
_And if that billy goat won't pull, _  
_Daddy's going to buy you a cart and bull. _  
_And if that cart and bull turn over, _  
_Daddy's going to buy you a dog named Rover. _  
_And if that dog named Rover won't bark, _  
_Daddy's going to buy you a horse and cart. _  
_And if that horse and cart fall down, _  
_You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town."_

Once he finished his song, Maria had settled down enough for her cries to turn into just soft burbling sounds with her tears dripping down her face.

"Come here, baby. Come, lets go lay down." He whispered to her, carrying her to his bedroom. Tony sat down and with one hand, he pulled the covers over the two of them, his eyes focused on the baby infront of him. "You have no idea how much I love you, baby girl. I would, no, I will give you the world. You're pretty much my everything, kid. Kinda stuck with me. Don't you dare scare me like that again." He spoke softly, letting Maria crawls over his lap and onto his chest, resting her head next to the Arc reactor, her tiny hand reaching up to cover it as she mumbled. "Dada".

The two laid there for hours, the younger Stark falling fast asleep within minutes leaving the older Stark to just… watch his child before sleep claimed him, leaving the Stark clan of two in silence with a love that was neverending.


	5. Chapter 5

After containing the ball from Cleteus, with a little help from DUM-E that is, Tony vaulted up his stairs. It seemed like the creature didn't like heat, so what did he do? Stuck it in the damn oven.

The only thing he had in mind was his daughter. Not only was she in danger, but she had seen him trying to shoot it. She was too young to experience these things, for fucks sake.

Opening her bedroom door, he whispered her name softly, checking to see if she was awake. She hadn't shown signs of wanting to sleep outside of her crib yet, but he still kept a bed in the room, adorned with it's pink canopy and princess themed bedspread.

There he found her, curled up on the small bed, too short to get to her crib. She was shaking and her cheeks were wet with tears as she whimpered in her sleep.

Her nightmare was wrecking through her body as if the creature was still inside of her.

He sat on the bed slowly, not to jostle her as he carefully lifted her shaking body into his arms, cradling her as he bounced her softly.

"Hush, baby, hush." He said softly, brushing a few errant strands of her hair that clung to the wetness on her cheeks. "Shhh." He said, as soothingly as he possibly could, only to look down to see her beautiful blue eyes, something she inherited from her mother, staring up at him with tears streaming down the corners of her eyes.

"Dada." She whimpered, sitting up and hugging him, her small arms going around his neck as she clung to him. "Dada, dada, dada." She chanted, sobbing softly. "I had a bwad dream. And you were not there." She choked out, holding on to him as tightly as she could.

"Hush, baby girl. It was only a dream. Only a dream. I'm here, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, you understand? I'm here forever for you." Tony whispered against the top of her head before standing with her, cradling her against his body, her arms still around his neck. "Come on, lets go sleep in daddy's room tonight. Maybe we can watch Brave again? Would you like that?" He asked her, kissing her forehead while she nodded. "Pwease."

And just like that, he was hooked again. How she managed to capture every fiber of his being... was amazing. He never knew what to expect, being a father. And now that he did, it only made him wonder, why was his father never like this? Why was he the exact opposite of Tony?

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he caught sight of her pouting, one hand wiping her face. "Why you say no? You said we can watch Bwave." She stated, her dream clearly forgotten.

With a small smile, he kissed her cheek before rubbing his nose against his. "Brave it is."

After getting settled in his bed, Maria on his lap, her cheek resting on his chest, next to his Arc, Tony spoke. "JARVIS, you heard the princess. Queue up Brave."

"As you wish sir." The AI replied, as the scottish music started, signaling the start of the film.

"Dada, can I be wike Mewida? Can I swoot arrows?" She said, a yawn stuck in her throat.

"...Baby, how about we just watch the movie now. And you can be what ever you want to be when you grow up." He replied, knowing full well that what he just said was a lie.

He would never let her become one of them. There was too much danger in their lives, hell, that afternoon proved it!

Sighing softly, he ran his fingers through her hair as he actively watched the movie, knowing full well that his daughter always caught him when he zoned off.


End file.
